When I was reading my Bible this weekend, I kept getting redirected to read scriptures that referred to the Book of Life, and because that kept coming up… I feel this is something we should cover. We will continue with Ecclesiastes as the Lord leads…
To begin, I looked up “Book of Life” in the Vine’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible… and the Book of Life is defined as a book to be opened in the Day of Judgment, containing, it would seem, the record of human deeds.
“I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12
Don’t misunderstand this scripture…No one is saved by deeds, but our deeds are seen as clear evidence of our relationship with God. We are told many times that the Book of Life contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them. This scripture also tells us Jesus will evaluate us based on how we used the gifts, opportunities, and responsibilities He has given us.
Here are some scriptures that mention the Lamb’s Book of Life….
“All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and His angels that they are mine.” Revelation 3:5
“There will be a time of anguish greater than any since the nations first came into existence. But that time every one of your people, whose name is written in the book will be rescued. Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.” Daniel 12: 1-2
That scripture from the book of Daniel is a clear reference to the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, although the eternal destiny will be quite different.
Jesus says,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
He says that He is the only way to God the Father. Some people argue that and say Christians are intolerant and closed-minded. But Jesus couldn’t be clearer. They also argue that there are many paths to God, and each path takes you to the same place. Again, Jesus tells us…
“Enter by the narrow gate, for wide the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and different is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7: 13-14
So the gate leading to eternal life is called, “narrow.” With that said… being a Christian isn’t hard – but there’s only one way to eternal life with God, and only a few people (compared with the world’s population) decide to walk that road. Instead of worrying about how limited that sounds…one way… we should give thanks and praise to God for providing that way.
Jesus is life. Because we have life in Jesus our name is written in the Book of Life… And that is something to celebrate!